Several challenges are hampering the delivery, acceptance and use of contraceptives in Nigeria.
Poor funding is the major reason Nigeria failed to meet the pledge it made in 2012 to achieve a modern contraceptive prevalence rate (MCPR) of 27 per cent among women by 202O, health experts have said.
The family planning (FP) 2020 goal was to enable 120 million additional women and girls of reproductive age, globally, to have access to contraceptives by the year 2020.
At the dawn of the deadline, the FP 2020 target indicators show that Nigeria has only 12 per cent MCPR for women in the country.
FP advocates say the government continuously failed to meet its counterpart funding commitment for the goal thereby hindering progress.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how no money was budgeted for counterpart funding in the 2019 FP budget.
But apart from poor budgetary allocations, several other challenges are hampering the delivery, acceptance and use of contraceptives.
A coalition of health advocacy groups are now taking the lead in confronting several obstacles hindering the progress of family planning initiatives in Nigeria.
Nigeria Family Planning Conference 2020 (NFPC)
Health minister Osagie Ehanire at the 2020 biennial Nigeria Family Planning Conference (NFPC) held in Abuja last December announced the extension of the 2020 target to 2024.
"This target once again has been rebased to 27 per cent by the year 2024 to allow more time for ongoing efforts to yield results, given the changing realities and emerging challenges, including those imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic," the minister said.
The Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) in partnership with the health ministry and a cross-section of development partners organized the 6th NFPC held between December 7 and 11, 2020.
AAFP is a national coalition of FP advocates that evolved into a civil society organisation that has been driving FP agenda in Nigeria for years.
The theme of the event was 'Post FP2020 Agenda and Safeguarding Investments in Emergencies: Adaptation, Innovation, Resilience'.
Last Tuesday, a report and a communique detailing the outcome and recommendations from the NFP conference was released.
The report highlighted various gaps and obstacles that could scuttle the 2024 target.
It also underscored efforts and the role of AAFP and other supporters such as the Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC)/PACFAH@scale project in improving FP services.